All Forum Posts by: Matt L.

Just passing laws that allow homeowners to build ADUs at will is extremely lazy and shortsighted. Many people push it as a simple solution to a housing shortage. Our politicians don’t want to put in the hard work and planning that’s necessary before building all this additional housing. We need to take into account the infrastructure, nearby facilities, schools, etc. utilized by those in the community, otherwise we’re creating a whole new set of problems for ourselves. Sewage, water and electrical infrastructure are designed to accommodate a limited number of people. School playgrounds are already being taken over by mobile classrooms in order to accommodate the ever increasing number of students. If the plan is to increase housing, then first build up the foundation. Make sure we have enough electricity, water and sewage capacity for the population increase. Make room at the local school for more kids and be prepared to hire more teachers. Schools are already short staffed and under funded as it is.

I'm curious if anyone has gone this route in Southern California.  I've heard the cost to get an approved map could be $150k-$200k.

I realize this question was posted over a year ago, but I just had a friend ask how he should get started in real estate investing.  Udemy came to mind, but I don't really know much about the instructors.  Roofstock academy has been around a while, but I can't really recommend something I haven't taken myself.  I was going to suggest the route I took when I started, which was reading books and listening to every Bigger Pockets podcast (sometimes multiple times).  Of course now that BP is approaching 500 podcasts, that could take a while.  I feel hearing real life success stories and lessons learned is invaluable and extremely motivational.

Thank you everyone for responding.  It's not really big enough for hunting, mining or camping.  If it's easy enough for me to look up, I can't imagine someone purchased it at auction by accident.  It's clearly marked as open space preserve.  I guess they have their reasons.

I was looking at a past auction and noticed quite a few people bidding an a property designated as Open Space Park or Preserve for both existing and planned land use.  It doesn't sound like future development on this property will be permitted, so I'm wondering why someone would park their money here.  The only thing that comes to mind is the bidders own property nearby and want to ensure the property remains open space.

@Randall Demary The plan is to have the owner live in the main house and rent the JADU and ADU to two separate families. We'll see how long that lasts. If he does decide to move, he will rent the entire house out to one family. We think it would be easier to manage that way, and legally I don't think he's suppose to rent out all three units.

@Ross A. Thanks Ross. That's exactly what I was thinking for the cable/internet. I actually called two providers to check, and at the time we figured unit A, B and C would work. However, I didn't realize the detached ADU would get its own address number. So now we'll have a main address unit A and B (JADU) and the detached ADU will have a unique street number. We will add a fixed cost for the other utilities.

@Justin R.Thanks for the tip.  I'm not sure he's aware of the deed restriction.

As for #2, I was referring to managing a property with three tenants, but it looks like that's not an option. So he would be living in the main house and managing tenants in the JADU and ADU. I did also mention that I wouldn't want to live that close to tenants either. I think he will grow tired of it and eventually rent the main house and JADU as one rental.

@Dan H. Thanks Dan, I thought there was a rule like that requiring owner occupancy.  There was a last minute change to create a JADU as well, so I'll have to make sure all the necessary permits have been submitted.

That's correct, an attached JADU and detached ADU. Each unit does not have a separate utility meter, so the plan is to charge a set fee to each tenant for water, electricity and gas. We are putting solar on the ADU, which should offset most of the electrical use. I started helping with this project midstream, so some decisions I'll have to live with. For example, not having separate meters. I'm not even sure that was an option, or maybe it was just too expensive.

The part that makes this slightly more complicated is converting the residence from single family to 3 units.  There's a lot to consider with the possibility of 3 families living.  I'd be happy to share as we make more progress.  It certainly is one investment option for San Diego, since the cost of housing here has gotten a little out of hand.

As far as return on investment, I'm working on this with a family member, so he may decide to live in one of the three units or rent out all of them.  Here's a breakdown.

Main house - 850 sqft 2 bed 1 bath w/garage and nice size front and back yard.
Detached ADU - 950 sqft 2 bed 2 bath, shared driveway parking, large upper section of back yard.
Attached JADU - 220 sqft 1 bed 1 bath, kitchenette, separate driveway, side and back yard.

I would say a rough guess on rent is

Main house: $2200/month
Detached ADU: $2400/month
Attached JADU: $1000/month

But we'll have to see.